Two million settlement in wisdom teeth extraction death

A 17 year old woman died in June 2015, after having her wisdom teeth removed. This has been reported on http://teethremoval.com/death.html since 2015. The woman was from Minnesota and went into cardiac arrest during the surgery. The woman’s parents in early 2017, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the oral and maxillofacial surgeon. The court documents said that the surgeon and staff did not appropriately anticipate or respond to the emergency. The lawsuit said there were dangerous actions, from incorrectly administering general anesthesia to failing to provide proper monitoring during surgery. The attorney said the parents sued the doctor as it “…gave the family a better understanding of how the death of their daughter came about… They had the courage in a difficult situation to seek the truth about why their daughter died.” The attorney also said “I’m absolutely convinced that … Read more

Continuing to Assess the Death Rate of Dental Treatment

For years on teethremoval.com one has been able to find more information about deaths from dental treatment and wisdom teeth removal. In addition it has been estimated that the death rate in dentistry occurs in 1 out of every 400,000 cases. Due to a few recent review articles that appeared in 2017, the mortality rate in dentistry page at http://www.teethremoval.com/mortality_rates_in_dentistry.html has been updated. Two articles that may be of note are H. Mortazavi, M. Baharvand, and Y. Safi, Death Rate of Dental Anaesthesia, Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, Jun., Vol-11 (6): ZE07-ZE09 2017, and N. G. Reuter, P. M. Westage, M. Ingram, and C. S. Miller, Death related to dental treatment: a systematic review, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, vol. 123, iss. 2, pp. 194-204. e10, Feb. 2017. The first article performed a review of over 20 studies focused on death … Read more

What Can a Surgeon Do to Prevent Opioid Abuse

An interesting article titled “The Surgeon’s Roles in Stemming the Prescription Opioid Abuse Epidemic” written by James Hupp appears in the 2016 Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery (vol. 74, pp. 1291-1293). The article describes the current challenges oral and maxilofacial surgeons are facing when it comes to prescribing opioids. This is because regulators and politicians are getting involved due to their perception of an opioid abuse problem. He mentions that Congress is considering legislation to address prescription drug addiction problems. The author wants surgeons to remember that there are legitimate reasons for giving patients who have had oral surgery such as wisdom tooth extractions an opioid medication.  Pain that interferes with a patient’s usual routines, their ability to consume enough fluids and calories, or their ability to sleep often requires a narcotic until the pain subsidizes. As such these patients should be prescribed opioids … Read more

Wisdom Teeth Facts – From Symptoms & Occurrence to Extractions & Precautions

What are Third Molars? A permanent dentition typically consists of 32 teeth and third molars or wisdom teeth are the most posterior teeth present on each quadrant. They are located the farthest in a dental arch and are usually the last ones to erupt. The third molars are formed due to evolutionary factors but with modern lifestyle and eating habits, they are no longer necessary. This is why smaller jaws have inadequate space to accommodate the eruption of third molars and all they do is cause pain, infection and discomfort. When Do Wisdom Teeth Erupt & Why? Wisdom teeth usually erupt between the ages of 16 to 25 but they may also erupt at a later stage for some. According to popular belief, wisdom teeth were used by ancestors for grinding plant tissues. Since our ancestors had a huge mouth … Read more

Can Science Solve Our Problems?

An interesting article titled “Science and Conscience” appears in the 2015 Journal of Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery written by Thomas Dodson (vol. 73, pp. 2255-2256). The article opens by discussing a study by the NIH seeking to explore the differences in people with a systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg versus that of 120 mm Hg. The study was aborted with a year left in its duration. The study concluded achieving a target systolic blood pressure of 120 mm Hg reduced cardiovascular events by almost 33% and death by almost 25% compared with a group with a target systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg. The authors question why such a study was ever needed to be done because it seems so intuitive but later explains that our society today relies on science to achieve it’s high standards. The author then goes on to discuss how there … Read more